One thing I used to do on the original PS2 version was call all my codec contacts in each new area to see new dialogue. There is actually sooo many codec conversations that you can miss if you don't do this. Sure they are not necessary to hear, but it gives you much more appreciation for how well this game was thought out.
Played the game countless times, and I think I've only ever managed to trigger the conversation where Snake explains Vamp got his name, not because he drinks blood, but because he's bisexual _once_ Genuinely believed it was a fever dream for year.
Not only that but some only trigger in certain areas, rooms or story beats. Part of the fun of the Master Collection is it includes a script for each game including codec calls and their triggers. It's amazing seeing how many pages the codec has compared to the cutscenes and all the details the codec accounts for. For example in MGS3 The Boss and Sigint fill the same role over the radio so if you talk to The Boss about a particular weapon that conversation won't happen once Sigint joins the team to avoid the player hearing a bunch of repeat dialogue. No idea if Sigint has any additional information compared to The Boss' versions.
Fun fact: The VA for Campbell was kept in the dark about what the bizarre calls at the end were for as the voice director wanted to preserve the authenticity of his performance as random and contextless. Specifically he was told the lines were for warming up his voice and calibrating the recording equipment. Source: YongYea's interview with Paul Eiding.
@@JakeTheStakeNowIn3D5024 To be fair by that point he's probably talked about nanomachines, rollerskating mad bombers and vampires that can run on water enough that those lines were par for the course.
I played the game during the original release period. I actually liked the Raiden reveal and the subsequent "end of evangelion" collapse into insanity that was the ending.
This needs a remake and soon. If you told me Hideo was a time traveller, I’d believe you based on this game. It’s eerie how accurately this game predicted the present day
For real. There's a lot of dystopian and cyberpunk fiction that amplifies the concerns of the time period, but MGS2 is one of the few that really looked forward at emerging technologies and the ways people were using them and saw a clear problem that few did before. Even now I feel like the GW is the most realistic "evil AI" in a work of fiction - not malevolent, or even all that maniacal, but chillingly subtle about how it manipulates perceptions and traps people in illusions "for their own good", while only understanding people as tools and data points to be moved around and optimized. As AI begins to emerge in the real world, especially since its primary use is in the mimicry and the manipulation of data, we might soon actually face a world where AI-curated information has more control over our sense of truth than our own lived experiences (and arguably, it already does). That's incredibly worrying and _remarkably_ prescient from a game from 2001.
@@MarshmallowRadiation absolutely. The world is already in a Cold War when it comes to information (with COVID really bringing it out into the forefront) Now couple that with the rise of AI we are seeing now and we’re -retry much there
Like Marshmallow Radiation said, there was actually quite a precedent set for concerns over developing technology at the time from various cyberpunk games, films, and books, even going back as far as the mid-80's and early 90's. Even Kojima's own earlier works; _Snatcher and Policenauts,_ touch on adjacent topics. Also my favorite Neal Stephenson novel, _Snow Crash._
It didn't predict anything. Kojima is just using the same information suppression that humans have been using forever. There is nothing here that hasn't already been done save for the tech behind it. It's not a big stretch to "predict" that technology could eventually do this.
@@HumorousLOL He didn't just predict that technology could eventually do it. He gets pretty close to how it actually works today. I mean, of course the theoretical basis for all of it already existed and the tech to do it to some extent also. You didn't have to be clairvoyant to have seen these things coming, but you would have to have been in the field and / or have done the research. Which he clearly did as he came up with the themes and story of the game, as well as do a lot of reading and thinking otherwise. It's also just insanely ambitious stuff to talk about in your videogame in 2001, especially for a sequel to one of the most revered games of the previous console generation and during the height of dudebro gamer culture. And that part is just one facet of it and probably the most surface-level one at that. I'm sure he's still passionate about the games he directs now, but I don't think it's ever been the same since MGS2. It really was supposed to be the last one and he put his everything into it and seems to be left with not much else to say. He can still do interesting themes, but the writing tends to be absolute tripe.
A note on your gripes with the Vamp fight: It''s a lot more fun to play it non-lethally. And, I don't know if the game tells you this, but if you shoot him with the grenade launcher while he's in the water, he'll lose his oxygen and hop out much faster. Also, the Nikita makes you have a big melee strike, rather than the usually punch-punch-kick-kick combo, and it's a good way to deal with Vamp when he's running at you in melee. I highly recommend you use these strategies and play the Vamp fight again on Extreme, because it's a whole lot of fun. However, I do agree with you, without knowing those small things, the Vamp fight does feel very lacking. Also, loving this series. YT randomly recommended the Ghost Babel video and I've gone back and been watching them as you go. I'm excited to see how you enjoy all the games as you go, and keep up the great work! EDIT: Also, at the end of the game when Raiden and Snake are talking on the street, if you look really closely in the background, you can see Vamp. There are so many cool, small features in the game that aren't even mentioned or commonly used.
I had the same experience. The Ghost Babel video popped on my feed a while ago. I loved this game and played all MGs (available to me) up to Revengence. My core friend group in no way thought this was a bad sequel and anyone who did was more into video games than they were into the story IMO. This game was inspiring and shaped some of my opinions of games and governments.
You can also use the handrail trick to exploit the fact Raiden has I-frames when climbing over railings to dodge Vamp's melee attacks and get some easy hits in.
Imagine. Writing a game, It popping off, and you immediately sit down and say “ok, the second game is the same as the first, but you’re not snake. Other than that just some setting and villain changes. OH and we’re going to casually drop a Nostradamus level prediction on the Information Age and what is about to come from the over saturation of the internet. No biggie. You know, a casual sequel”
This is by a distance the most replayable metal gear for me, and the story which at first seems jarring is actually the biggest ever example of a creative using their platform to send life truths to the audience.
The gameplay is by far the most "playable" for me (I'm playing MGSV rn and it might end up overcoming that tbh). I don't really have any drive to replay any of the games I've played so far (MG1-2, MGS1-4), except MGS2. It just feels like the perfect amount of playability to me
One of the biggest reasons Konami cant continue the MGS franchise without Kojima (remakes aside), is because of the themes and messages Kojima was trying to tell us. Also, you cant make a Tarantino movie without Tarantino.
@@diegomedina9637 MGS aren't just espionage games, every game in the franchise had some sort of theme, underlying messages. These kinda visions came from the original developer, without him, all they can do at most is remakes. But I doubt they'll stay true to the franchise even then.
Some background lore for those who didn't know: Pliskin is a reference to Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) who's the protagonist in the movie "Escape from New York" (1981) which Kojima took as inspiration for the characters Solid Snake and Big Boss in the MG series (eye patch incl). Also, some BGMs in Metal Gear 2 are very similar to the synth soundtrack of said movie. And maybe there's some resemblance between Revolver Ocelot and the police commissioner (Lee Van Cleef) in the same movie 😉So, if you like MG(S) you need to watch that!
It's not really a review. He basically just describes the game from start to finish without offering any real insight into it's gameplay then sticks a score at the end.
You mentioned Snake being able to catch a cold on the Tanker chapter. From my experience, this only happens on higher difficulties such as Hard and Extreme. My heart stopped when that happened and alerted a guard. The details in this game are amazing.
One thing that always bugged me is how noone seems to acknowledge or care that Solidus is actually the friggin' former President of the United States George Sears. They're just like "wow you're the spitting image of Big Boss".
Im so happy you liked it so much. Its one of my favorite games of all time and its wonderful when someone plays it for the first time and loves it. Your narration of it is incredible too so I hope it pushes people to play it. 2 things you got slightly wrong: In the last codec call, they weren't GW. Thats why Raiden says surprised that the IA was already destroyed and they respond "Only GW", implying GW wasn't the only IA (foreshadowing). The Shadow Moses Incident wasn't part of S3 program neither planned by the Patriots. What they say is that they replicated the events of it with the Big Shell stating that if a person follow their intructions in such an extreme scenario with every reason to disobey them, they would have successfully manage to create a method to manipulate ANY individual.
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the series overall. Newcomers to MGS are few and far between these days… I’m jealous I wish I could revisit those moments! Also the fact you’re playing them in release order is the right way to go about it!
@@Necrom6 The in-game justification is that there's more blood flow in those areas. Don't know if it would work quite like that in real life (probably notl).
For your playthrough of mgs 3 a few tips for you. Stamina and health can be leveled up by taking damage and letting it heal and keeping your stamina at its highest point. Your gun magazines become items when emptied that can be used to distract guards. Depending on which mgs you pick in the beginning of the game it will give you different starting items. There will be frequencies and other things hidden in the first person view of the cutscenes when promted. Scientists dont get alerted by a moving box, all other enemies do though. You can lean or peek up from cover with the bumpers and aim. You can aim your wrapon forward or put it fown with clicking in the left stick.
There are so, so many little details. There are a ton of optional Codec calls. The CQC system is surprisingly complex. An interesting, deliberate quirk of the game mechanics is that you can use the quick weapon switch to reload faster than a normal reload. It's a deliberate mechanic which is mentioned in the manual I think. The boss fights have a bunch of obscure little mechanics to them.
@@notcole yep, you pull both triggers at the same time while you’re hanging on a ledge. There’s so much more to this game, so many little details and quirks that easily are missed.
I really love how well MGS2 aged considering how lambasted it was on release. Not blaming people who didn't like it back then, since it was a pretty big bait and switch... But the more time passes the more the games themes become relevant, and the more the details and gameplay becomes more appreciable. Truly one of the GOATS. I THINK I still prefer Snake Eater, but this one is a very close second.
I feel like the whole "everyone hated MGS2 when it launched" is pretty overstated and revisionist, tbh. There was a vocal _minority_ who were upset at the bait and switch, and it's become something of a meme now to talk about how hated the game was in 2001 (which is oddly fitting considering the theme of the game is Memes), but there was never any real animosity towards the game from the fans.
@@dungeonsanddobbers2683 tbf I had this idea too because a few friends of mine were some of the people who didn't like Raiden or the bait and switch so that colored my view on the reception of the game a lot.
@@dungeonsanddobbers2683I wouldn’t go so far as vocal minority because it was definitely a significant thing, I heard it every time I would say mgs2 was better than mgs1. With that said it for sure became an over exaggerated meme over time. People were annoyed but nobody was saying the game sucked until it became a meme years later.
@@dungeonsanddobbers2683 I think attributing the backlash that MGS2 received to just be a "vocal minority" is really underselling it. It also implies that the people who expressed disappointment were not real fans, or that their opinion was insignificant. But a lot of the creative choices that Kojima made for the next games was directly influenced by some of the controversy surrounding MGS2. It's more fair to simply say MGS2 was controversial or divisive.
GOD DAMN THIS VIDEO IS LONG, Not that I’m complaining. I’ve watched a five hour video on the old Justice League cartoon like 3 times and an 8 hour video on the lore of every mega man game. Also I’d say Raiden’s MGR:R look is his most iconic
Cant believe ive been just laying in bed watching your entire first mgs and mgs2 playthrough videos, finished the entire thing. That was nice to watch tho, good to see they still hold up, and so much nostalgia that reminds of why they're still some of my top fav games ever. Ill surely watch your mgs3 vid too haha.
Forgot to mention there's an enhanced Substance edition that originally released on the Xbox that came with VR Missions, a series of offshoot missions called Snake Tales, and in-world documents and articles about the events of the games.
Fun fact, buddy for that vamp fight, you could spam the grenade launcher in the water and hurt him a little more so you’re not just waiting around for him to pop back out you can use any explosive or explosive launcher against him even the guided missiles not recommended though…still a fun challenge to do if your ever bored lol❤ great video series
Used to love just roaming around the tanker, spent so long on that section. I just liked the layout and the way you could slowly clear the level. Very atmospheric. I completed this game 20 years ago. Not sure I could do it now. I remember it as having many sections I struggled with. My patience much have been quite high back then. Finished 1 and 3 as well. Never played 4 and never got into 5.
I totally understand your problem getting used to the new stealth mechanics. I also started playing the games in release order when the new collection came out a few months ago, and every single time I started the next game it took me several hours to figure out the differences. I even had an issue getting used to MG2 after playing MG1 lol I was in that first room for what felt like a stupidly long time
Well, u forgot to mention in the beginning using the tranquilizar gun aiming the gun at a soldier hurry and point the gun at his face the soldier will drop his dog tags and aiming around the cruch area they will drop rations or other items
MGS2 has one of my favorite little easter-eggs. Jack gets...well...a shower and gets a call from the Colonel: "Sneaking missions are called wetworks for a reason after all." 🤣🤣🤣
I'm really glad you enjoyed this game! The bait and switch of Raiden never really bothered me. it was welcoming surprise. I'm glad they finally fixed the keycard issue 🤣 Also in my head canon, it's actually Raiden who going through the VR missions in "Metal Gear Solid VR/Special Missions" especially when he mentions it to Pliskin. I hope you can find a way to emulate/play Metal Gear Solid Mobile since set between MGS1 & MGS2.
9.6 Hell yeah! Loved the video. Thanks for doing all this. Got me wanting to go back and play the game again. What's your highest rated game in the review series?
Regarding the graphics jump, my friend and I were 11 when this first came out, and I remember us being blown away at Fortune's appearance because the strand of hair in front was a separate thing instead of being painted on her face.
I'm really glad you loved the game so much, I played it on original hardware and you can probably imagine how mind blowing it was. The game also aged like wine because the main story twist about the overflow of information, censorship and propaganda gets more and more relevant each passing day, Kojima simply predicted the future. Every MGS game is amazing in it's own way, they all have their ups and downs, but it's mostly ups let's be real. It's still hard to believe such a series exists because when you look at any single game it seems like such lighting in a bottle and you think to yourself "there's no way they can do that again", but kojima kept doing it again and again.
I suppose everything is up to interpretation, but I’ve played MGS2 a few dozen times genuinely never thought that Rose has been AI the entire game. I truly believe that she is the real Rose, but except for when GW speaks as her. Two references during the ending’s conversation after defeating Solidus even disprove her being AI. Raiden says he finally remembers the significance of April 30th, referring the conversations he had with Rose during the mission. She responds with “That’s it!” which means the real Rose had those convos. Secondly, she says “You mean, the baby?” referencing the pregnancy that she revealed during the mission as well. I’ve always seen it as her being real the entire time, but not knowing that the colonel was AI. Then, GW uses an AI version of Rose to speak to Raiden in Arsenal Gear near the end of the game when he starts acting up.
Ok, took me a moment due to life things; but I’m so happy you love the mgs series as much as us long time fans do. I liked raiden when he was revealed, but it sucked not to play as snake much; although it gave birth to a later game that you’ll play in the series. I assume mgs3 is next!?
At 46:04 "Arsenal then accelerates, crashing into NewYork city" A sceme featuring NewYork was deleted here following the events of 9/11. You can still see the 3D asset of NYC used for that scene, with the twin Towers, inside the bonus DVD of the Substance version of MGS2
Playing this game for the first time on the pc and hard difficulty. I have to say, even though I still love the game beyond nostalgia, the controls can give you a real headache in certain situations. But hey, it's an old game and despite this it's still fun. After I finish Sons of Liberty, I can't wait to play Snake Eater again (overall probably my fav MGS). Anyway, nice video, cheers!
Mgs2 is less iconic than the original. The story is more convoluted and less stream lined. Mgs2 does have lots of atmosphere though which does carry it.
well, having beaten Metal gear, Metal gear 2 and Metal gear solid 1 this title is by far my favorite so far. The ending was great whilst maybe going on for a bit long and not 100% where I had been hoping it to go it was still great! These games have taught me to always second guess everyone's trustworthiness and BOY does this game play on that. Poor Raiden. I also really find the gameplay the most enjoyable nothing feels unfair or drug out. Most engaging game to me so far, didn't lose me once from start to finish. This game also is a visual masterpiece for its age.
I feel like i’m an odd duck for loving 4 the most, but 2 has shot up more and more the more I replay it. If I had one critique about your reviews so far, it’s that covering the plot beat for beat isn’t really necessary. You can afford to paint with broader strokes, if you’ll excuse the metaphor. Like yes, talk about the story, the themes, what you liked about it, all of that, it’s just that when there are long stretches where you are just recapping rather than giving opinions or insight it stops feeling like a review. Then again, what do I know? I enjoyed the hell out of this anyway!
I'd love to hear more of your thoughts at certain parts of your playthrough. For example, when "Iroquois Plisskin" was talking about Foxhound and Solid Snake being dead, I'm interested to hear your thoughts at that point. I'm enjoying these vids but sometimes they feel like you're just recapping the games rather than going through your mindset. Just some constructive criticism, keep it up dude
Shadow moses was way more unique than the big shell. Constant boring orange rigs compared to each unique level in mgs1. Snow, caves, offices, hangars, smelting factory. They all had unique character and music compared to mgs2
40:45 - 40:50 that quick seemingly rambling Japanese that he is speaking are literally train stations along this one particular railway. I really wish I remembered what city if it’s not Tokyo, that one little section where he’s speaking fast in Japanese are just names of train stations along a particular route. And Apparently it’s been subtlety referenced in other mgs titles…I think
This is the best summary of this game I have ever seen. There is only one part that I feel could make it better. You forgot to mention Solidus' reason for wanting to kill Raiden. That his nanomachines are carrying info about who the patriots are. Other than that this was flawless. I will keep this video around so if I ever have to summarize the plot I can just show someone this video.
People gave this game crap back then but I loved it. After mgs1 I was SOOOO excited to see the sequel. I got it with my PS2 and played it about 3 or 4 times all the way thru. And the sequel in. MGS4 gave me great closure to the story. I absolutely love this series.
Another tactic you can use in Vamp boss fight is to throw grenades at the water while Vamp is swimming in it which not only damages him but also forces him out of the water
Amazing game for sure... but my least favorite of the mainline series. Weakest gameplay and environments. Not as much story excellence or highs as 1,3,4.
As some1 who has done mgs2 on the hardest dificulty back in the day on ps2 an have played the game like 50 times, i never knew you could slip an fall to your death to bird shit i knew you could slip on it but ive never stepped on it were it could kill you this is kinda mind blowing
I played this when it first came out. I loved tge Raiden bait & switch, but for the first half I was disappointedthat it appearedto be a reskinned copy of MGS. By the time it reached the end & we discovered that the whole game was a simulation built on the previous game with the actual player being the subject, I loved it! It was also fantastic to see that Ghost Babel was also made canon with its inclusion in th Colnels "gone funny" stage. 😁
Great video lad but why didn’t you tell us what happened with Otacon and Emma’s mother?! Played it originally as a kid and can’t remember anything weird in it?!
It's needlessly dark and has nothing to do with the overall story/themes of the game. I was originally just going to skip over it entirely, but figured alluding to it for a slight bit of comedy couldn't hurt. It would definitely go over your head if you were younger, but yeah, pretty weird that it's in there 😅
I've already commented but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the song "Emma Electronica" - You only heard it for about 30 seconds, and it doesn't get into the meat of the song. Arguably the best song recorded for the game, and it didn't make the cut in it's full form sadly. What you heard from it is easily forgettable, but it's a work of art I recommend checking out if you are a big lover of video game music like I am. As for what made the cut, my favourite tracks are "Twilight Sniper", "Big Shell - Caution theme" and the boss music for Metal Gear Rey/Solidus.
I still never bothered to collect all the dog tags or max out the push ups level, but Substance had some cool extras. MGS2 has the most unique vibe out of any game, but I like MGS3 more.
MGS2 slaps. another awesome MG video Chole. 37:28 LMFAOOOO. btw 16:00 The Big Shell is actually modeled after IRL ocean oil cleanup facilities just way larger which make sense for the story.
Weird to compare Halo 1 to MGS2, due to one is only single player and the other is both single player and multiplayer. GTA 3 is sort of cheating also due to think the game world is a few X bigger and think was for PC first & even then it could be easily modded. Harder comparisions might be - FInal Fantasy X - would say CGI is better besides maybe the laugh, the rest might be roughly equal and would say water is 100% better (besides when character is fully under water) - Grand Turismo 3 - might say is better overall but does not care about people PS: Not saying it is not one of the better looking games of that year at all.
Man I love this game, and seeing the commercials of it on TV made me want to play it so badly. But yeah the backlash at the twist of not playing as Snake was huge. People were pissed off but according to Kojima he wanted people to see Snake i a different perspective, to add more character and depth to him. It was effective but gamers hated being lied to. Some people even said that due to not playing as Snake it's what led Kojima to making the 3rd game. To give my honest opinion, I didn't like Raiden in this game. The way he moved, held the weapon and how he handled situations in the game, just didn't make me like him. I know there was a reason for it but he just didn't mesh well with me. Yet I wasn't alone as many people had similar sentiments, which led to him being revamped, but you'll find out about that later.
I love the stories of these games, but I am only capable of playing snake eater and on for some reason. I really want to try and plau them all in release order some day, but I am a bit nostalgicly inept for now lol
One thing I used to do on the original PS2 version was call all my codec contacts in each new area to see new dialogue. There is actually sooo many codec conversations that you can miss if you don't do this. Sure they are not necessary to hear, but it gives you much more appreciation for how well this game was thought out.
Played the game countless times, and I think I've only ever managed to trigger the conversation where Snake explains Vamp got his name, not because he drinks blood, but because he's bisexual _once_
Genuinely believed it was a fever dream for year.
Not only that but some only trigger in certain areas, rooms or story beats. Part of the fun of the Master Collection is it includes a script for each game including codec calls and their triggers. It's amazing seeing how many pages the codec has compared to the cutscenes and all the details the codec accounts for.
For example in MGS3 The Boss and Sigint fill the same role over the radio so if you talk to The Boss about a particular weapon that conversation won't happen once Sigint joins the team to avoid the player hearing a bunch of repeat dialogue. No idea if Sigint has any additional information compared to The Boss' versions.
Fun fact: The VA for Campbell was kept in the dark about what the bizarre calls at the end were for as the voice director wanted to preserve the authenticity of his performance as random and contextless. Specifically he was told the lines were for warming up his voice and calibrating the recording equipment.
Source: YongYea's interview with Paul Eiding.
I bet he was thinking: This is some weird (and long) warmup!
@@JakeTheStakeNowIn3D5024 To be fair by that point he's probably talked about nanomachines, rollerskating mad bombers and vampires that can run on water enough that those lines were par for the course.
*_Maybe the real weapon to surpass Metal Gear is all the friends we made along the way._*
That's a rather contagious Biological Weapon. Definitely against the Hague and Geneva Conventions
I mean, if they're infected with Foxdie then yeah because Foxdie has a higher kill count than any of the Metal Gears.
@@PlebNC ouch, lol. I’m not even a dev and I felt that burn.
@@Jerrycourtney
The Fury: "I see IT! *THE FURY!* "
The Pain: "Haaaaaaah!"
I played the game during the original release period. I actually liked the Raiden reveal and the subsequent "end of evangelion" collapse into insanity that was the ending.
This needs a remake and soon. If you told me Hideo was a time traveller, I’d believe you based on this game. It’s eerie how accurately this game predicted the present day
For real. There's a lot of dystopian and cyberpunk fiction that amplifies the concerns of the time period, but MGS2 is one of the few that really looked forward at emerging technologies and the ways people were using them and saw a clear problem that few did before. Even now I feel like the GW is the most realistic "evil AI" in a work of fiction - not malevolent, or even all that maniacal, but chillingly subtle about how it manipulates perceptions and traps people in illusions "for their own good", while only understanding people as tools and data points to be moved around and optimized. As AI begins to emerge in the real world, especially since its primary use is in the mimicry and the manipulation of data, we might soon actually face a world where AI-curated information has more control over our sense of truth than our own lived experiences (and arguably, it already does). That's incredibly worrying and _remarkably_ prescient from a game from 2001.
@@MarshmallowRadiation absolutely. The world is already in a Cold War when it comes to information (with COVID really bringing it out into the forefront) Now couple that with the rise of AI we are seeing now and we’re -retry much there
Like Marshmallow Radiation said, there was actually quite a precedent set for concerns over developing technology at the time from various cyberpunk games, films, and books, even going back as far as the mid-80's and early 90's.
Even Kojima's own earlier works; _Snatcher and Policenauts,_ touch on adjacent topics. Also my favorite Neal Stephenson novel, _Snow Crash._
It didn't predict anything. Kojima is just using the same information suppression that humans have been using forever. There is nothing here that hasn't already been done save for the tech behind it. It's not a big stretch to "predict" that technology could eventually do this.
@@HumorousLOL He didn't just predict that technology could eventually do it. He gets pretty close to how it actually works today. I mean, of course the theoretical basis for all of it already existed and the tech to do it to some extent also. You didn't have to be clairvoyant to have seen these things coming, but you would have to have been in the field and / or have done the research. Which he clearly did as he came up with the themes and story of the game, as well as do a lot of reading and thinking otherwise.
It's also just insanely ambitious stuff to talk about in your videogame in 2001, especially for a sequel to one of the most revered games of the previous console generation and during the height of dudebro gamer culture. And that part is just one facet of it and probably the most surface-level one at that.
I'm sure he's still passionate about the games he directs now, but I don't think it's ever been the same since MGS2. It really was supposed to be the last one and he put his everything into it and seems to be left with not much else to say. He can still do interesting themes, but the writing tends to be absolute tripe.
A note on your gripes with the Vamp fight:
It''s a lot more fun to play it non-lethally. And, I don't know if the game tells you this, but if you shoot him with the grenade launcher while he's in the water, he'll lose his oxygen and hop out much faster. Also, the Nikita makes you have a big melee strike, rather than the usually punch-punch-kick-kick combo, and it's a good way to deal with Vamp when he's running at you in melee. I highly recommend you use these strategies and play the Vamp fight again on Extreme, because it's a whole lot of fun. However, I do agree with you, without knowing those small things, the Vamp fight does feel very lacking.
Also, loving this series. YT randomly recommended the Ghost Babel video and I've gone back and been watching them as you go. I'm excited to see how you enjoy all the games as you go, and keep up the great work!
EDIT: Also, at the end of the game when Raiden and Snake are talking on the street, if you look really closely in the background, you can see Vamp. There are so many cool, small features in the game that aren't even mentioned or commonly used.
I had the same experience. The Ghost Babel video popped on my feed a while ago.
I loved this game and played all MGs (available to me) up to Revengence. My core friend group in no way thought this was a bad sequel and anyone who did was more into video games than they were into the story IMO. This game was inspiring and shaped some of my opinions of games and governments.
The Stinger in Vamp’s swimming pool is the only ethical way to do that fight.
You can also use the handrail trick to exploit the fact Raiden has I-frames when climbing over railings to dodge Vamp's melee attacks and get some easy hits in.
Imagine. Writing a game, It popping off, and you immediately sit down and say “ok, the second game is the same as the first, but you’re not snake. Other than that just some setting and villain changes. OH and we’re going to casually drop a Nostradamus level prediction on the Information Age and what is about to come from the over saturation of the internet. No biggie. You know, a casual sequel”
This is by a distance the most replayable metal gear for me, and the story which at first seems jarring is actually the biggest ever example of a creative using their platform to send life truths to the audience.
The gameplay is by far the most "playable" for me (I'm playing MGSV rn and it might end up overcoming that tbh). I don't really have any drive to replay any of the games I've played so far (MG1-2, MGS1-4), except MGS2. It just feels like the perfect amount of playability to me
It definitely is a great game I like torturing the guards
One of the biggest reasons Konami cant continue the MGS franchise without Kojima (remakes aside), is because of the themes and messages Kojima was trying to tell us.
Also, you cant make a Tarantino movie without Tarantino.
I don't know... Portable Ops, Rising and Some small parts of Survive makes me think they'll do a good job.
@@diegomedina9637 MGS aren't just espionage games, every game in the franchise had some sort of theme, underlying messages.
These kinda visions came from the original developer, without him, all they can do at most is remakes.
But I doubt they'll stay true to the franchise even then.
@@EricTheBroBean You never played Portable Ops and Rising huh?
The best part about mgs2 is that no matter how many times you play it, there is still more easter eggs, humor, and tricks you can learn.
The worst part is I don’t get to those “best parts” because the game is such a disappointment that I don’t even CARE!!! Massive letdown.
@user-qe7bt9dz1l why do you say such words? Let me hear why you are disappointed
@@Mr.Honest247That's because you're a simpleton.
@@Mr.Honest247 yeah cool, have fun with not having fun
@@Mr.Honest247 then why are you here just don't comment
A masterpiece, way ahead of its time and a lot of the themes are still very much relevant today. I'm glad you enjoyed MGS2 as I did.
More, more relevant today
@@ccompson2Yeah, it's very black pilled.
Some background lore for those who didn't know: Pliskin is a reference to Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) who's the protagonist in the movie "Escape from New York" (1981) which Kojima took as inspiration for the characters Solid Snake and Big Boss in the MG series (eye patch incl). Also, some BGMs in Metal Gear 2 are very similar to the synth soundtrack of said movie. And maybe there's some resemblance between Revolver Ocelot and the police commissioner (Lee Van Cleef) in the same movie 😉So, if you like MG(S) you need to watch that!
These videos remind me of how game review videos used to be. Good stuff.
It's not really a review. He basically just describes the game from start to finish without offering any real insight into it's gameplay then sticks a score at the end.
You mentioned Snake being able to catch a cold on the Tanker chapter. From my experience, this only happens on higher difficulties such as Hard and Extreme. My heart stopped when that happened and alerted a guard. The details in this game are amazing.
It's even funnier when you forget to take the medicine and alert the entire hold during that part of the tanker.
I actually got it on my easy playthrough so it's not restricted to difficulty as I thought it was
One thing that always bugged me is how noone seems to acknowledge or care that Solidus is actually the friggin' former President of the United States George Sears. They're just like "wow you're the spitting image of Big Boss".
Huh, I completely missed that Snake mentions Sorrow and Joy at the end of the game....
The Joy and the Sorrow weren't written into the series yet in 2001.
Im so happy you liked it so much. Its one of my favorite games of all time and its wonderful when someone plays it for the first time and loves it.
Your narration of it is incredible too so I hope it pushes people to play it.
2 things you got slightly wrong:
In the last codec call, they weren't GW. Thats why Raiden says surprised that the IA was already destroyed and they respond "Only GW", implying GW wasn't the only IA (foreshadowing).
The Shadow Moses Incident wasn't part of S3 program neither planned by the Patriots. What they say is that they replicated the events of it with the Big Shell stating that if a person follow their intructions in such an extreme scenario with every reason to disobey them, they would have successfully manage to create a method to manipulate ANY individual.
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the series overall. Newcomers to MGS are few and far between these days… I’m jealous I wish I could revisit those moments! Also the fact you’re playing them in release order is the right way to go about it!
The tranquilizer works quicker when it hits the body as it's closer to the heart, i guess.
Not so sure about the head though.
It works fastest at the head, less fast on the torso, even slower in the limbs.
@@HumorousLOL I know that, but why does it do that?
@@Necrom6 The in-game justification is that there's more blood flow in those areas. Don't know if it would work quite like that in real life (probably notl).
@@Necrom6 rewards the player for aiming
@@peterlaanguila5098 Yes I know that.
For your playthrough of mgs 3 a few tips for you.
Stamina and health can be leveled up by taking damage and letting it heal and keeping your stamina at its highest point.
Your gun magazines become items when emptied that can be used to distract guards.
Depending on which mgs you pick in the beginning of the game it will give you different starting items.
There will be frequencies and other things hidden in the first person view of the cutscenes when promted.
Scientists dont get alerted by a moving box, all other enemies do though.
You can lean or peek up from cover with the bumpers and aim.
You can aim your wrapon forward or put it fown with clicking in the left stick.
There are so, so many little details. There are a ton of optional Codec calls. The CQC system is surprisingly complex. An interesting, deliberate quirk of the game mechanics is that you can use the quick weapon switch to reload faster than a normal reload. It's a deliberate mechanic which is mentioned in the manual I think. The boss fights have a bunch of obscure little mechanics to them.
In regards to leveling up, you can actually level your grip strength up by doing a certain sets of pushups per level. It’s only to level 3, though.
*pull ups
YOU CAN DO PULL UPS???
@@notcole yep, you pull both triggers at the same time while you’re hanging on a ledge. There’s so much more to this game, so many little details and quirks that easily are missed.
@@notcolenow do it IRL
Or drop and catch yourself. Each one counts as 10 pullups
I really love how well MGS2 aged considering how lambasted it was on release. Not blaming people who didn't like it back then, since it was a pretty big bait and switch... But the more time passes the more the games themes become relevant, and the more the details and gameplay becomes more appreciable. Truly one of the GOATS.
I THINK I still prefer Snake Eater, but this one is a very close second.
I feel like the whole "everyone hated MGS2 when it launched" is pretty overstated and revisionist, tbh.
There was a vocal _minority_ who were upset at the bait and switch, and it's become something of a meme now to talk about how hated the game was in 2001 (which is oddly fitting considering the theme of the game is Memes), but there was never any real animosity towards the game from the fans.
I think MGS3 has the better gameplay of the two, but I prefer MGS2's story.
@@dungeonsanddobbers2683 tbf I had this idea too because a few friends of mine were some of the people who didn't like Raiden or the bait and switch so that colored my view on the reception of the game a lot.
@@dungeonsanddobbers2683I wouldn’t go so far as vocal minority because it was definitely a significant thing, I heard it every time I would say mgs2 was better than mgs1. With that said it for sure became an over exaggerated meme over time. People were annoyed but nobody was saying the game sucked until it became a meme years later.
@@dungeonsanddobbers2683 I think attributing the backlash that MGS2 received to just be a "vocal minority" is really underselling it. It also implies that the people who expressed disappointment were not real fans, or that their opinion was insignificant. But a lot of the creative choices that Kojima made for the next games was directly influenced by some of the controversy surrounding MGS2.
It's more fair to simply say MGS2 was controversial or divisive.
MOAR!!!!! Wow man, you have some great talent on telling these stories. Im 48 minutes in and felt like 5. Keep it up
GOD DAMN THIS VIDEO IS LONG, Not that I’m complaining. I’ve watched a five hour video on the old Justice League cartoon like 3 times and an 8 hour video on the lore of every mega man game.
Also I’d say Raiden’s MGR:R look is his most iconic
Cant believe ive been just laying in bed watching your entire first mgs and mgs2 playthrough videos, finished the entire thing. That was nice to watch tho, good to see they still hold up, and so much nostalgia that reminds of why they're still some of my top fav games ever.
Ill surely watch your mgs3 vid too haha.
Forgot to mention there's an enhanced Substance edition that originally released on the Xbox that came with VR Missions, a series of offshoot missions called Snake Tales, and in-world documents and articles about the events of the games.
I spent so much time in elementary in the early 2000s
The master collection was so nostalgic
Fun fact, buddy for that vamp fight, you could spam the grenade launcher in the water and hurt him a little more so you’re not just waiting around for him to pop back out you can use any explosive or explosive launcher against him even the guided missiles not recommended though…still a fun challenge to do if your ever bored lol❤ great video series
Shooting the radio... I did not know. I've to replay these games. 👏🏻
9:07 - Snake actually has long blonde hair as seen in the briefings in MGS1 that he cuts and dyes to make himself look different from Liquid
Used to love just roaming around the tanker, spent so long on that section. I just liked the layout and the way you could slowly clear the level. Very atmospheric.
I completed this game 20 years ago. Not sure I could do it now. I remember it as having many sections I struggled with. My patience much have been quite high back then. Finished 1 and 3 as well. Never played 4 and never got into 5.
Crazy detailed review man. I honestly can't believe you got it done in the time you did! Well done!
I totally understand your problem getting used to the new stealth mechanics. I also started playing the games in release order when the new collection came out a few months ago, and every single time I started the next game it took me several hours to figure out the differences. I even had an issue getting used to MG2 after playing MG1 lol I was in that first room for what felt like a stupidly long time
Now...did he shoot the birds?
of course not... I would never...
@@notcolethe birds are Patriot spies, you should have filled em with lead
Well, u forgot to mention in the beginning using the tranquilizar gun aiming the gun at a soldier hurry and point the gun at his face the soldier will drop his dog tags and aiming around the cruch area they will drop rations or other items
28:44 ''As the Hind crashes into the water'' got carried away in the excitement huh? :P
The story of this game is so confusing....but the gameplay is just perfect.
MGS2 has one of my favorite little easter-eggs.
Jack gets...well...a shower and gets a call from the Colonel:
"Sneaking missions are called wetworks for a reason after all." 🤣🤣🤣
holy shit a 52 minute review? oh we are eating good tonight!
I'm really glad you enjoyed this game! The bait and switch of Raiden never really bothered me. it was welcoming surprise. I'm glad they finally fixed the keycard issue 🤣 Also in my head canon, it's actually Raiden who going through the VR missions in "Metal Gear Solid VR/Special Missions" especially when he mentions it to Pliskin. I hope you can find a way to emulate/play Metal Gear Solid Mobile since set between MGS1 & MGS2.
I mean i recently learned there was alot of cut content from mgs 2 alot of the cut content sounded fun, they need to release a director's cut.
9.6 Hell yeah! Loved the video. Thanks for doing all this. Got me wanting to go back and play the game again. What's your highest rated game in the review series?
Currently it’s this one 🙂
@@notcole - Well holy shit.
Just amazing! Still have this game on 2 dvd-s! One is for game! Second is how game was made! Masterpiece!!!
I don't know what ames looks like, but I do know he has a pacemaker.... sounds legit
Regarding the graphics jump, my friend and I were 11 when this first came out, and I remember us being blown away at Fortune's appearance because the strand of hair in front was a separate thing instead of being painted on her face.
It has arrived!
I'm really glad you loved the game so much, I played it on original hardware and you can probably imagine how mind blowing it was. The game also aged like wine because the main story twist about the overflow of information, censorship and propaganda gets more and more relevant each passing day, Kojima simply predicted the future.
Every MGS game is amazing in it's own way, they all have their ups and downs, but it's mostly ups let's be real. It's still hard to believe such a series exists because when you look at any single game it seems like such lighting in a bottle and you think to yourself "there's no way they can do that again", but kojima kept doing it again and again.
The North American release of Metal Gear Solid was on October 20th, 1998. The Japanese release was on September 3rd, 1998.
So Jack was playing a video Game like sólid snake
you should look up speedrunner tricks for the Vamp boss fight.
I suppose everything is up to interpretation, but I’ve played MGS2 a few dozen times genuinely never thought that Rose has been AI the entire game. I truly believe that she is the real Rose, but except for when GW speaks as her.
Two references during the ending’s conversation after defeating Solidus even disprove her being AI. Raiden says he finally remembers the significance of April 30th, referring the conversations he had with Rose during the mission. She responds with “That’s it!” which means the real Rose had those convos. Secondly, she says “You mean, the baby?” referencing the pregnancy that she revealed during the mission as well.
I’ve always seen it as her being real the entire time, but not knowing that the colonel was AI. Then, GW uses an AI version of Rose to speak to Raiden in Arsenal Gear near the end of the game when he starts acting up.
Being able to stand to use the psg1 i love that it was frustrating to constantly lay down to shoot it
Ok, took me a moment due to life things; but I’m so happy you love the mgs series as much as us long time fans do. I liked raiden when he was revealed, but it sucked not to play as snake much; although it gave birth to a later game that you’ll play in the series. I assume mgs3 is next!?
look, I'm not gonna outright say what's next, but we are sticking to release order... so there's one quick stop to make first...
@@notcole I know you won’t, but you know many of us are going to guess 😂
At 46:04 "Arsenal then accelerates, crashing into NewYork city"
A sceme featuring NewYork was deleted here following the events of 9/11.
You can still see the 3D asset of NYC used for that scene, with the twin Towers, inside the bonus DVD of the Substance version of MGS2
Playing this game for the first time on the pc and hard difficulty. I have to say, even though I still love the game beyond nostalgia, the controls can give you a real headache in certain situations. But hey, it's an old game and despite this it's still fun. After I finish Sons of Liberty, I can't wait to play Snake Eater again (overall probably my fav MGS).
Anyway, nice video, cheers!
28:12 goat reference
This videos are so cool, a lot of detail, with story and gameplay, make me remember when I first played this
Mgs2 is less iconic than the original. The story is more convoluted and less stream lined. Mgs2 does have lots of atmosphere though which does carry it.
This series is so good! Great job Chole
I think the length is totally necessary, any shorter would have been doing the game a disservice one way or another
It was a masterpiece and sold lots of Ps2. Only problem I've had was Snake. There was too little of him and Raiden is not as bad ass.
NIce vid; will you play / review the GameCube Metal Gear game, or the Nokia NGage one?
I hear it's amazing when the purple flap jaw worm flips on the tuning fork
well, having beaten Metal gear, Metal gear 2 and Metal gear solid 1 this title is by far my favorite so far. The ending was great whilst maybe going on for a bit long and not 100% where I had been hoping it to go it was still great! These games have taught me to always second guess everyone's trustworthiness and BOY does this game play on that. Poor Raiden. I also really find the gameplay the most enjoyable nothing feels unfair or drug out. Most engaging game to me so far, didn't lose me once from start to finish. This game also is a visual masterpiece for its age.
Excellent overview 🙏
I feel like i’m an odd duck for loving 4 the most, but 2 has shot up more and more the more I replay it. If I had one critique about your reviews so far, it’s that covering the plot beat for beat isn’t really necessary. You can afford to paint with broader strokes, if you’ll excuse the metaphor. Like yes, talk about the story, the themes, what you liked about it, all of that, it’s just that when there are long stretches where you are just recapping rather than giving opinions or insight it stops feeling like a review. Then again, what do I know? I enjoyed the hell out of this anyway!
"As the Hind crashes into the water" lol, I found this little mistake funny but anyway amazing video, loved every second.
You should watch high level gameplay vs Vamp, the boss fight gets really fun when you know how to deal with his tricks.
I'd love to hear more of your thoughts at certain parts of your playthrough. For example, when "Iroquois Plisskin" was talking about Foxhound and Solid Snake being dead, I'm interested to hear your thoughts at that point. I'm enjoying these vids but sometimes they feel like you're just recapping the games rather than going through your mindset. Just some constructive criticism, keep it up dude
MGS2 a 9.6, be prepared to give MGS3 Snake Eater a 11.4
Shadow moses was way more unique than the big shell. Constant boring orange rigs compared to each unique level in mgs1. Snow, caves, offices, hangars, smelting factory. They all had unique character and music compared to mgs2
Played this at 11 years old and only 1 other game managed to be as a profound as this masterpiece. Disco Elysium.
40:45 - 40:50 that quick seemingly rambling Japanese that he is speaking are literally train stations along this one particular railway. I really wish I remembered what city if it’s not Tokyo, that one little section where he’s speaking fast in Japanese are just names of train stations along a particular route. And Apparently it’s been subtlety referenced in other mgs titles…I think
This is the best summary of this game I have ever seen. There is only one part that I feel could make it better. You forgot to mention Solidus' reason for wanting to kill Raiden. That his nanomachines are carrying info about who the patriots are. Other than that this was flawless. I will keep this video around so if I ever have to summarize the plot I can just show someone this video.
You didn't even mention the thrill of trying to collect dog tags
Thank you for another great video!
People gave this game crap back then but I loved it. After mgs1 I was SOOOO excited to see the sequel. I got it with my PS2 and played it about 3 or 4 times all the way thru. And the sequel in. MGS4 gave me great closure to the story. I absolutely love this series.
Jack was also the name of Naked Snake aka Big Boss
Another tactic you can use in Vamp boss fight is to throw grenades at the water while Vamp is swimming in it which not only damages him but also forces him out of the water
Damn I can't wait to see u played, 3, PW, 4, Revengence, GZ and 5
Glad I'm not too late to the party, can't wait for the snake eater video.
My 2nd favorite game of all time, MGS and MGS2 are tying with 1st place for me, I love them both 😎
Amazing game for sure... but my least favorite of the mainline series. Weakest gameplay and environments. Not as much story excellence or highs as 1,3,4.
Thank you for doing this!
As some1 who has done mgs2 on the hardest dificulty back in the day on ps2 an have played the game like 50 times, i never knew you could slip an fall to your death to bird shit i knew you could slip on it but ive never stepped on it were it could kill you this is kinda mind blowing
If you use the stinger and shoot it at the water while Vamp is under water you’ll damage him and deplete his O2 Bar.
I played this when it first came out. I loved tge Raiden bait & switch, but for the first half I was disappointedthat it appearedto be a reskinned copy of MGS.
By the time it reached the end & we discovered that the whole game was a simulation built on the previous game with the actual player being the subject, I loved it!
It was also fantastic to see that Ghost Babel was also made canon with its inclusion in th Colnels "gone funny" stage. 😁
Great video lad but why didn’t you tell us what happened with Otacon and Emma’s mother?! Played it originally as a kid and can’t remember anything weird in it?!
It's needlessly dark and has nothing to do with the overall story/themes of the game. I was originally just going to skip over it entirely, but figured alluding to it for a slight bit of comedy couldn't hurt. It would definitely go over your head if you were younger, but yeah, pretty weird that it's in there 😅
I've already commented but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the song "Emma Electronica" - You only heard it for about 30 seconds, and it doesn't get into the meat of the song. Arguably the best song recorded for the game, and it didn't make the cut in it's full form sadly. What you heard from it is easily forgettable, but it's a work of art I recommend checking out if you are a big lover of video game music like I am.
As for what made the cut, my favourite tracks are "Twilight Sniper", "Big Shell - Caution theme" and the boss music for Metal Gear Rey/Solidus.
I still never bothered to collect all the dog tags or max out the push ups level, but Substance had some cool extras. MGS2 has the most unique vibe out of any game, but I like MGS3 more.
MGS2 slaps. another awesome MG video Chole. 37:28 LMFAOOOO. btw 16:00 The Big Shell is actually modeled after IRL ocean oil cleanup facilities just way larger which make sense for the story.
Funny how you cant swim when u fall off the shell but you can when you have to save otoocons sister ? Lol technology right
my favorite MGS game is peace walker. But MGS2 is the game ive played the most
metal gear 2 was crap, not playing with snake was the biggest mistake.and the story was just to complicated
Weird to compare Halo 1 to MGS2, due to one is only single player and the other is both single player and multiplayer. GTA 3 is sort of cheating also due to think the game world is a few X bigger and think was for PC first & even then it could be easily modded.
Harder comparisions might be
- FInal Fantasy X - would say CGI is better besides maybe the laugh, the rest might be roughly equal and would say water is 100% better (besides when character is fully under water)
- Grand Turismo 3 - might say is better overall but does not care about people
PS: Not saying it is not one of the better looking games of that year at all.
Grade A video mate, good fucking work.
Man I love this game, and seeing the commercials of it on TV made me want to play it so badly. But yeah the backlash at the twist of not playing as Snake was huge. People were pissed off but according to Kojima he wanted people to see Snake i a different perspective, to add more character and depth to him. It was effective but gamers hated being lied to. Some people even said that due to not playing as Snake it's what led Kojima to making the 3rd game.
To give my honest opinion, I didn't like Raiden in this game. The way he moved, held the weapon and how he handled situations in the game, just didn't make me like him. I know there was a reason for it but he just didn't mesh well with me. Yet I wasn't alone as many people had similar sentiments, which led to him being revamped, but you'll find out about that later.
Mgs2 was my entry point into the series. It launched for my birthday in 2001 😂😂 wonderful game, love it. Still love 3 the most 😂😂😂
I love the stories of these games, but I am only capable of playing snake eater and on for some reason. I really want to try and plau them all in release order some day, but I am a bit nostalgicly inept for now lol
1. Snake definitely gets a cold if you stay in the rain too long.